Davis proud of comeback

St Leonards snooker player Mark Davis in action at the Dafabet Masters

Published:16:55Wednesday 15 January 2014

Share this article

Mark Davis came agonisingly close to claiming one of the best victories of his career on Sunday afternoon but the 41-year-old refused to be too downhearted despite his narrow Masters defeat.

The 41-year-old, from St Leonards, lost a final-frame shootout against defending champion Mark Selby having mounted a remarkable comeback from 4-0 down to level proceedings at 5-5.

Davis fired in breaks of 80 and 136 as he came back from 5-2 with three on the spin to level things up on the opening day of the Masters at Alexandra Palace in London.

But in a final frame that was a heavy safety battle, Davis never really got a chance as world No.2 Selby ground down his opponent to progress to the quarter-finals.

The defeat means that the wait for a first win at the Masters goes on for Davis after three trips to Alexandra Palace, not that the right-hander was too downhearted.

“There are loads of positives,” he said. “I had not done that much wrong to be 4-0 down, I came back but it was not to be in that last frame. I’m proud of myself for the way I came back. Even at 4-0 down I thought I could do a bit of damage in the match because I hadn’t done much wrong.

“I never felt I had a really good chance in the decider. It wasn’t the sort of frame I wanted. But I have played really well there and for me it is a case of carrying on.”

While Davis was certainly the heavier scorer, Selby more often than not came out on top in the safety exchanges, a deficit that the St Leonards potter admits he will have to work hard to make up.

“I played pretty good but my safety was maybe a little bit loose,” he added. “And you can’t afford to do that against someone like Mark, he’s too good a player to keep giving chances to.

“And in that final frame Mark showed why he is where he is, I did not really get a good chance which is all you want in a decider. That’s all it comes down to in the end and it just was not to be.”

British Eurosport is the Home of Snooker, showing 19 tournaments this season including the World Championship, UK Championship, the Masters and all ranking events, available on Sky, Virgin Media & BT or online/on mobile via eurosportplayer.co.uk